How are my municipal property taxes calculated?

The overall tax rate is calculated by dividing the amount of money required to fund the budget by the total assessed value of all properties in town.

TAX RATE = Total Budget Funding ÷ Total Assessed Property Values

For 2026, residential assessment of properties in the Town of Ponoka increased by $71.4 million, and non-residential assessment increased by $23.4 million for a total overall increase of $94.8 million over the 2025 assessment. The increase in property assessment values is another reason why some property owners in Ponoka may see an increase on their 2026 property tax notice.

Factors that can affect property assessment values are the age of homes, the number of homes in the community, and the number and size of businesses in the community.

To calculate the amount of municipal property tax that you pay as a homeowner, the tax rate is multiplied by the assessed value of your property and divided by 1,000.

YOUR PROPERTY TAXES = Tax Rate x Your Property's Assessed Value ÷ 1,000

Please note that the overall increase in your municipal property taxes from year to year is directly related to the annual change in your property’s assessment value.

Here is a hypothetical example of how property taxes are determined:

If the Town of Ponoka determines it requires $100,000 to fund the annual budget; and

There are three municipal properties in the community. One is valued at $125,000, the other is valued at $250,000 and the third is valued at $425,000. All three properties total $800,000 in assessed value.

Let's do the math:

$100,000 divided by $800,000 equals a tax rate of 0.125

If your property's assessed value is $250,000, your municipal property taxes would be:

0.125 (tax rate) x $250,000 (assessed property value) ÷ 1,000 = $31.25